Tracking Kentucky commits in the Early Signing Period

UPDATE

Here is a look at all of the players Kentucky has signed thus far in the early signing period:

The early signing period for college football is fast approaching.

December 19-21 will see college football programs across the country start to solidify their teams heading into the 2019 season.

The Kentucky Wildcats already have a pretty solid class built and the coaching staff is looking to solidify the commitments that have been made so far. Mark Stoops and company have been working hard since the end of the regular season and have recently added a few new commitments this month.

Kentucky’s 2019 class ranks 33rd in the country and 12th in the SEC. The Wildcats have three 4-star commitments and, with a renewed emphasis on in-state recruiting, two of those 4-stars are from Kentucky.

In addition to the high school recruits, Stoops has successfully recruited from among the junior college ranks as well. He has snagged commitments from former UK commit JaVonte Richardson (the No. 2 JUCO receiver) and, more recently, Elijah James, the 6-4, 300-pound defensive tackle who is teammates with Richardson.

Overall, Kentucky has 21 commitments heading into the early signing period. As things currently stand, Kentucky’s 2019 class looks to build on the successful 2018 campaign. Kentucky has two quarterback and four receiver commitments.

With Danny Clark gone and the Gunnar Hoak potentially transferring as well, the coaching staff needed to address the quarterback position. Amani Gilmore, a pro-style, 3-star QB out of Louisiana, and Nik Scalzo, a dual-threat, 3-star QB from Florida, will look to add some depth and talent behind Terry Wilson, the presumed starter next season.

As mentioned above, Kentucky also landed the commitment of the No. 2 JUCO receiver in the country in JaVonte Richardson. Richardson will look to add depth and an outside threat to Kentucky’s passing game, something that was sorely lacking outside of Lynn Bowden last season.

On the defensive side of the ball, Kentucky is losing a lot of talent at all levels. In response to that, Stoops and the staff have 11 defensive players committed, including 5 defensive lineman. Highlighting the defensive players are the two 4-star Kentucky recruits, Jared Casey and JJ Weaver.

Casey, a linebacker, and Weaver, a defensive end, are two huge wins out of Louisville for the Wildcats. And Weaver, after initially wanting to wait to sign until spring, recently announced he would sign with the Wildcats in a few days.

The Wildcats’ third 4-star recruit is safety Moses Douglass from Ohio. Douglass’ father played at UK and the younger Douglass could see the field early with all the depth Kentucky is losing in the secondary.

Kentucky is also looking to hold onto Ohio defensive tackle Cavon Butler. The Wildcats got Butler’s commitment in August. There’s been some talk that Butler might flip to Ohio State or Michigan State. Either way, he’s planning on signing this week.

Another point of emphasis for the 2019 class was to keep home-grown talent in Kentucky, specifically in Kentucky blue. Mark Stoops currently has 5 Kentucky players committed, including four of the top-10 players in the state: Weaver, Casey, Shawnkel Knight-Goff, and Demontae Crumes. All four are Louisville-based prospects.

This is another solid class recruited by Stoops and company. You can see a complete list of Kentucky’s commits here, courtesy of 247Sports.com. After a stellar season, it’s easy to see how success on the field can lead to success on the recruiting trail.

Kentucky may not be bursting with top-ranked talent, but they are landing some solid prospects and the coaching staff has shown that they are capable of developing the players they bring in. Big Blue Nation will have to wait to see how the early signing period will shake out, but it seems right now that some quality talent will be heading to Lexington next summer.

Be sure to follow along here at A Sea of Blue to stay up to date on all that happens during the signing period this week.